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The Regional Industrial Development Corporation (RIDC) and Allegheny County Airport Authority (ACAA) have agreed that RIDC will take over property management and business attraction efforts for Neighborhood 91 (N91), an advanced manufacturing campus at Pittsburgh International Airport. The goal is to expand the campus and bring in additional high-quality job-creating businesses.
The original N91 plan, unveiled in 2019, includes up to 195 acres once completed. The initial 13-acre phase RIDC is taking over in the coming months features a multi-tenant building and powder storage unit. RIDC expects to begin planning and construction work of an additional building soon and has already begun business attraction efforts.
“We see enormous potential for growth and are eager to continue driving that expansion,” said Christina Cassotis, CEO of ACAA. “Our mission and RIDC’s are aligned. As a nonprofit, RIDC can take a long-term view of projects and focus on a mission-driven strategy centered on economic growth and job creation.”
“Neighborhood 91 is at the crossroads of innovation,” said RIDC President Donald F. Smith, Jr., “where AI, autonomy, and additive manufacturing intersect. The airport itself is a valuable piece of our region’s economic infrastructure and its success is important to the region’s business attraction efforts. N91 is an exciting project that has the potential of attracting companies in strategic industries and having a catalytic effect on the region’s economy. It’s gratifying to be able work in partnership with a forward-thinking, action-oriented partner like ACAA, led by CEO Christina Cassotis.”
Neighborhood 91 – named in homage to Pittsburgh’s 90 distinct neighborhoods – is an end-to-end additive manufacturing hub located on the western end of the airport property. N91 was created with the goal of building an advanced manufacturing ecosystem that condenses and connects all components of the additive manufacturing supply chain into one powerful production center.
The “neighborhood concept” includes shared structural resources, such as shared storage facilities. Long-term plans for building out Neighborhood 91 include a range of synergies and amenities designed to create opportunities and drive innovation. The N91 hub also provides a connected supply chain, regional opportunity, simplified logistics and reduced production costs and lead times.
Current partners include Arencibia, Cumberland Additive, HAMR, Metal Powder Works, RJ Lee Group and Westmoreland Mechanical Testing & Research.
The proximity to Pittsburgh International Airport, along with rail, waterway and highway transportation networks, allows companies at N91 to move people and products worldwide within 24 hours.
N91 is also in close proximity to RIDC’s 500-acre Park West Industrial Park which is located in the airport corridor off I-376 Parkway West. The site was originally acquired by RIDC from Westinghouse Electric Corporation and master planned by RIDC. Park West Industrial Park now houses 1.8 million square feet of office, flex and industrial space and is home to more than 60 companies, including Grainger, LanXess, Vollmer America, Seegrid and Cigna.
Whether it’s properties like Park West Industrial Park in Findlay Township, Mill 19 in Hazelwood Green, Tech Forge in Lawrenceville, Keystone Commons in East Pittsburgh, or the Westmoreland Innovation Center in New Stanton RIDC has a long track record of creating spaces and places for economic growth, supporting the development of advanced manufacturing ecosystems and high-quality job creation for communities and the region as a whole. “The Neighborhood 91 project represents an exciting opportunity to create an economic catalyst for the region,” said RIDC Senior Vice President Tim White. “We are already in conversations with companies that recognize its attributes and value as a location for the kinds of businesses that have the ability to contribute to regional growth.”
Learn more about the Pittsburgh region’s economic development agenda and RIDC’s leadership role in it, providing public policy insights and developing homes for job-creating companies.
The mission of the Regional Industrial Development Corporation of Southwestern PA is to catalyze and support economic growth and high-quality job creation through policy advocacy, real estate development and finance of projects that advance the public interest. A not-for-profit entity, RIDC’s 8 million square feet of property, in 15 industrial and innovation parks, is currently home to 118 companies that support over 8,500 jobs. More information is available at www.ridc.org.
